Hospitality

And while dropping off a full bottle of expensive booze at every table seemed like an unreasonably extravagant gesture, it was actually cost-effective. After an elaborate multicourse dinner (and usually plenty of wine), few people were interested in drinking more than a sip of that cognac. Yet the feeling of abundance was there.

the qualities required of hosts: confidence, joviality, risk tolerance. It takes a lot of self-possession to put yourself in charge of other people’s time for a while